Transparent wall-element



April 16, 1963 R. roLJvAY 3,085,464

TRANSPARENT WALL-ELEMENT Original Filed Feb. 14, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

ATTORNEYS TRANSPARENT WALL-ELEMENT Robert Touvay, Paris, France, assignor to Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France Continuation of application Ser. No. 649,121, Feb. 14,

1957. This application Oct. 18, 1960, Ser. No. 63,358 Ciaims priority, application France Feb. 13, 1956 9 Claims. (Cl. 88-1) This invention relates to a wall-element which provides for the observation of the interior of a closed space. This application is a continuation of application Serial No. 640,121 led February 14, 1957, now abandoned, and partakes of the priority claimed therein.

The present invention has for its object a wall-element comprising a transparent part fastened in a mounting shaped as a cylinder of revolution and movable around the axis of revolution, within a framing of corresponding shape provided in the wall. It is thus possible for an observer, by rotating the mounting to orientate the transparent part in the direction where the observation is to be made. Another object is to provide a wide field of observation without necessitating too great dimensions of the transparent part of the element, which is practically made of glass and constitutes the brittle and expensive part thereof. y

Hereafter is described, by way of example, a wall element embodying the principles of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. l `is a vertical section of the framing inserted into the masonry of the wall, and of the mounting of the wall-element, the transparent part of which has an axis which is perpendicular to the wall.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal section along line lI-II of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a transverse section along line Ill-III of FIG. 1 corresponding to the axis of rotation of the element. In these drawings, I is a concrete wall provided with a rectangular opening 2 comprising steps such as 3. This opening constitutes a housing for the assembly made of the mounting 4 containing the transparent part and of the framing 5, 6. This assembly is put into place by means of slides 7 shown diagrammatically on FIG. 3.

The framing 5 is made of two vertical parts 8 and a bottom 9, completed by a cover 6 fastened by screws 10. The external faces of framing 5 are provided with steps corresponding to those of opening 2 provided in the wall and against which they abut. The internal face 12 of the vertical parts 8 is cylindrical. The internal faces of bottom 9 and of cover 6 are provided with annular steps such as 13, 14.

The mounting 4, which can be turned, may be made, for example, of cast iron and provided with cavities, such as 15, lled with a suitable material, is rotatably mounted around a vertical axis XX. It is accordingly supported by a bearing 16, provided with tapered rollers, located in the bottom 9 of the framing 5, and is journalled in the cover 6 by means of a knee-bearing 17. The external side-surface 18 of the mounting affords the shape of a cylinder of revolution whose axis of rotation is XX. The upper and lower side-surface of the mounting comprises annular steps 19, 20, engaging the corresponding steps 13, 14 of the framing. It will be seen that the mounting i United States Patent 0 3,685,464 Patented Apr. 16, 1963 ICC is generally in the form of a thick circular, cylindrical disc. In the embodiment shown, the disc has similar top and bottom surfaces having coaxial circular cylindrical steps (FIGS. l and 3), and has its periphery, except at and adjacent the locations of glass plates 24, y25, in the form of a right circular cylinder (FIG. 2).

The mounting 4 comprises a hole 21 whose axis is perpendicular to, and concurrent with, rotation axis XX. This hole, which extends throughout the mounting, is delimited by steps 22 and its successive rectangular transverse sections, such as AA', have increasing dimensions from the entrance adjacent to the oberver to the end 25 opening into the closed space surrounded by wall 1.

Glass plates, such as 23, grouped according to their sizes, are juxtaposed in the hole in spaced relationship with intervals of about one millimeter between each other. End sheets 24, 25 are tightly fastened with inserted joints on mounting 4 by means of clamping means or bezels 26, 27. A closed space is thus formed between these two end sheets, containing the glass plates 23, which is filled with a liquid of the sarne refractive index as the glass. This liquid, e.g. paraiine oil, interposed between the glass plates greatly reduces the light loss due to reilection on each face of the plates.

Tapering parts of the inside opening of the wall 1 may be provided with metal plates 30 to compensate for the decrease in wall-thickness at that place.

The wall-element according to the invention gives a vertical field of vision proportionate to the height of the plates, and an important lield of horizontal vision iield because of the rotation of the mounting. The latter field, which is limited only by the internal edges of the Wall, may be greater than The width of the plates may be small without prejudice to the horizontal ield of vision, thus resulting in an appreciable saving in glass. Another advantage of this Wall element is to permit direct contemplation in a direction perpendicular to the faces of the glass plates, thus avoiding the distortion of the images. Another advantage is that radiation proceeding along straight paths cannot go through the interstices between the curved surfaces of the mounting and the corresponding surfaces of its framing, nor between the stepped surfaces between mounting and framing or between glass and mounting. Consequently the element according to the invention may be used to advantage where the space under observation is the seat of such radiations.

When the wall-element is not to be used, it will be sufcient to rotate the mounting a quarter-turn to isolate the glass from the inside space. If the mounting is rotated a half turn, plate 25 will be brought in front of the observer for cleaning or replacement. Thus either of glass plates 24 or 25 may easily be replaced, without removing the mounting from the frame, by rotating the mounting to bring the desired plate to the outer end of the opening in the Wall (the position of plate 24 in FIG. 2) following which the screws holding the respective plate-retaining bezel 26 or 27 are removed to permit removal of the plate. The device according to theinvention makes it possible to replace damaged plates without having to dismount the wall-element, thus avoiding the necessity of important handling apparatus.

An additional glass screen 28 may be fastened on the framing of the wall-element so as to completely isolate the inner space from the outside. yIn this case the motion 3 of the transparent element is controlled by an adequate mechanism.

In structures having gaps extending from one side to the other there is always the danger that radiation may find its way through the gaps.

In the present invention, the pivoted nature of the port makes it inevitable that a joint shall exist between the iixed part of the port and the movable part. The penetration of radiation through this joint is prevented by a combination of means, the use of a stepped structure leading to the bearing mount and the use of the interiitting principle involving a step structure proceeding in the other direction, thus providing a repeated overlapping of solid structural elements and the repeated interposition of surfaces normal to the outward progress of radiation, which eliminates the possibility of the escape of radiation through the joint between the movable and ixed parts. The escape of radiation is prevented by the interposition of overlapping masses of different materials such as those which are found to fill the spaces 1I, 15 etc. The stepped structure, the different materials, the fitting parts, and the repeatedly transposed surfaces of obstruction alike contribute to avoid the passage of radiation towards the observer.

This invention secures a broad ield of vision in one direction by the rotatable mounting of the device, and in the other direction it secures a broad ield of vision by the progressive enlargement of the viewing aperture from the eye piece to the objective glass.

Due to the rotation of the mounting it is possible, while securing a suliicient field of vision, to reduce the width of the glass sheet measured perpendicularly to the direction of the axis of rotation, in such a manner that said width is comparatively small with regard to the thickness of the wall surrounding the wall-element according to the invention. It is thus possible to have the glass part entirely protected by the surrounding wall after a rotation of a quarter-turn of the wall-element when it is not in use. Furthermore, due to the relatively small width of the end glass plates, the surfaces limiting the joint between the mounting and the surrounding frame, when the wall-element has been rotated to isolate the glass plates, do not comprise rectilinear lines extending transversally to the direction of the axis of rotation (i.e. in a direction from the interior of the enclosure towards the exterior) of a length suiiicient to dangerously reduce the resistance to the passage of radiation.

For the object of providing sufiicient obstacles -to the passage of dangerous radiations through joints between different parts of the wall-element, in particular between the glass plates and the surrounding part of the mounting, the surfaces delimiting these joints are curved surfaces or overlapping stepped surfaces.

The present invention is not limited to the transparent wall-element rotatable about a vertical axis, as previously described. If a vertical field of vision is to be swept, instead of a' horizontal one, the wall-element may be made rotatable about a horizontal axis. In this case, a too great variation of altitude of the ocular-face of the element during the observations will be avoided by locating ksaid face in the vicinity of the axis of revolution.

A transparent element according to the invention, with a horizontal axis of revolution, may also be located in a horizontal wall such as a ceiling. l

As many apparently widely diiierent embodiments or" the present invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is to be understood that. the invention is not limited to the speciiic embodiments.

What is claimed is:

1. An enclosure, in particular an enclosure which is the site of dangerous radiations, having a wall and inspection means mounted therein comprising a stepped embrasure in the wall, a stepped frame littng the embrasure, said frame including opposed cylindrical steps,

and opposed surfaces of cylindrical section set in the wall, a cylindrical port fitting into the cylindrical sections and having cylindrical steps overlapping said steps, bearing means for the port engaged with said overlapping steps to impart rotatability to the port, a viewing aperture extending through said port comprising progressively larger stepped sections closed by transparent, removable plates which close the aperture, a nest of transparent plates interposed between said closing means, said bearing means permitting the rotation of the cylindrical port to a position in which the viewing aperture is protected against the radiations by the surrounding frame.

2. An enclosure, in particular an enclosure which is the site of dangerous radiations, having a wall and inspection means mounted therein comprising a stepped embrasure in the wall, a stepped frame fitting the embrasure, said frame including opposed cylindrical steps, a cylindrical port, having cylindrical steps overlapping said steps, bearing means for the rotatable port engaged with said overlapping steps to impart rotatability to the cylindrical port, a viewing aperture extending through said port comprising progressively stepped sections closed by viewing plates at the ends of the aperture, said bearing means permitting the rotation of the cylindrical port to a position in which the viewing aperture is protected from the radiations by the surrounding frame.

3. An enclosure, in particular an enclosure which is the site of dangerous radiations, having a wall and inspection means mounted therein comprising a cylindrical port, mounted in the wall, bearing means adapted to impart rotatability to the cylindrical port, said port and wall having overlapped parts which completely encircle the port and-oppose the iiow of radiation, a viewing aperture extending through said port comprising progressively larger stepped sections, transparent, radiation-obstructive Viewing means closing the aperture, said bearing means permittingthe rotation of the cylindrical port to a position in which the viewing aperture is protected from the radiations by the surrounding wall.

4. An enclosure, in particular an enclosure which is the site of dangerous radiations, having a wall and inspection means mounted therein comprising a circular port mounted in the wall, said wall and its port being encircled by overlapped parts which oppose to passage of radiation, said port having a viewing aperture adapted to contain a liquid, closed Iat its ends by transparent closures, and containing separated, transversely aligned, transparent plates and means to turn the port until the viewing aperture no longer transmits light to or from the enclosure.

5. An enclosure, in particular an enclosure which is the site ot dangerous radiations, having a wall and inspection means mounted therein comprising a port pivotally mounted in the wall, said port having a viewing aperture which is enlarged from the outward to the inward end in sections which are joined by steps transverse to the flow of vlight and radiation, said -aperture containing a series of radiation obstructing pilates between objective and eye piece and being enlarged in a direction transverse to the pivotal motion of the port in order to provide a wide angle of view in the direction in which the port does not turn, and means to turn the port until the viewing aperture no 'longer transmits light to or from the enclosure and the said plates :are shielded from radiation.

6. Anv enclosure according to claim 5 in which the axial dimensions of the sections of the viewing aperture is greater parallelly to the direction of the axis of rotation than in the direction transverse thereto.

7. An enclosure according to claim 6 in which the width of the transparent plates transversally to the direction off the axis of rotation is sui'lciently small with regard to the thickness of the wall that when the ends of the viewing aperture are positioned opposite the surrounding wall, the surfaces limiting the gap between the port and the embrasure do not comprise rectilinear lines of a length sufficient to reduce dangerously the resistance to the passage of harmful radiations.

8. An enclosure according to iclaim 7 in which the port can be pivoted around its axis by any angle which may attain 360.

9. An enclosure according to claim 1 in which tbe surfaces limiting the gaps between .the port and the trarne and between the tnansparent plates `and the Wall surrounding the viewing aperture, are of such shapes that they do not comprise rectilinear lines, extending in a direction from the interior of the enclosure towards the exterior,

6 which are of a length Vsnlicent to reduce dangerously the resistance to the passage of harmful radiations.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 25,483 Gautsch Jan. 10, 1884 451,134 Riddle Apr. l5, 1891 1,088,494 Warner Feb. 24, 1914 10 2,410,421 Brady N0v.5,1946 2,875,346 Monk Feb. 24, 1959 

1. AN ENCLOSURE, IN PARTICULAR AN ENCLOSURE WHICH IS THE SITE OF DANGEROUS RADIATIONS, HAVING A WALL AND INSPECTION MEANS MOUNTED THEREIN COMPRISING A STEPPED EMBRASURE IN THE WALL, A STEPPED FRAME FITTING THE EMBRASURE, SAID FRAME INCLUDING OPPOSED CYLINDRICAL STEPS, AND OPPOSED SURFACES OF CYLINDRICAL SECTION SET IN THE WALL, A CYLINDRICAL PORT FITTING INTO THE CYLINDRICAL SECTIONS AND HAVING CYLINDRICAL STEPS OVERLAPPING SAID STEPS, BEARING MEANS FOR THE PORT ENGAGED WITH SAID OVERLAPPING STEPS TO IMPART ROTATABILITY TO THE PORT, A VIEWING APERTURE EXTENDING THROUGH SAID PORT COMPRISING PROGRESSIVELY LARGER STEPPED SECTIONS CLOSED BY TRANSPARENT, REMOVABLE PLATES WHICH CLOSE THE APERTURE, A NEST OF TRANSPARENT PLATES INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID CLOSING MEANS, SAID BEARING MEANS PERMITTING THE ROTATION OF THE CYLINDRICAL PORT TO A POSITION IN WHICH THE VIEWING APERTURE IS PROTECTED AGAINST THE RADIATIONS BY THE SURROUNDING FRAME. 